Essential Tools For Soldering

Soldering is a process that is used to join two metal pieces together by making a strong, permanent bond. The process of soldering is mainly used by electricians, technicians and jewellers. If you are able to master the soldering process, you can create masterpieces right at your home. In engineering colleges in India, almost every student has to learn the soldering process. Such is its importance in the modern world. In order to master the soldering process, you need to understand the basics of soldering. These basics most importantly include the detailed knowledge of its tools and how to use these tools properly in the right manner. In this post, we are going to list out seven essential tools for the soldering process:

Soldering Iron/Soldering Torch: Soldering iron or soldering torch has the primary function of melting the solder. It passes high heat to the metal tips, which are then melted and a strong, permanent bond is formed between them. This is normally used for repair work and electricians use it to solder two wires in a strong bond.

Soldering Iron Stand: Soldering iron stand is also an essential tool for the soldering process because once the soldering iron is heated up it reaches a very high temperature and it just cannot be kept anywhere in your workspace. So, you need to have a soldering iron stand to place the hot soldering torch.

Soldering Wire: This is the wire that will melt and make a bond between the two metals you want to solder. Soldering wire’s melting should be lower than the metal pieces, so it is usually made up of lead, tin or brass.

Solder Sucker: If you want to remove soldering then this solder sucker comes in handy. Solder sucker can also repair and replace and when it is put to use, the process is known as de-soldering. First, the joint to be de-soldered is heated and then the solder sucker is used.

Flux and Brush- When a metal is heated in the soldering process, an oxide layer is formed, which is very dirty. If this layer is not cleaned, the flow of solder will be interrupted. To stop the formation of this layer, you have to first degrease the metal pieces you are going to join together and then you have to apply flux. This flux has the function of creating a new layer, which is airtight and this layer favours the running of solder. The flux should only be applied to the areas where you want to run your solder.

Shears: Shear is one of the cutting tools essential for the soldering process. They are used if you want to make smaller pieces of your solder strip. A number of shears are available to cut solder strip into the desired size.

Precision Steel or Titanium Tweezers- The bubbling and heating of the flux when it is heated can be quite frustrating for anyone. So, in this case, precision steel or titanium tweezers are used to hold stuff in place.

When the soldering process is completed, cleaning is also necessary. So, the tools used for cleaning purposes are solder flux cleaner and PCB flux cleaner. The flux that gets deposited on the flux has to be cleaned before re-use, so these types of cleaners are required.